After years of clinical suspicion, large studies confirm elevated risk across multiple cancers From Lewis S Blevins Jr., MD – Professor of Neurological Surgery, Medical Director of the California Center for Pituitary Disorders at UCSF
Dr. Blevins Corner
Medical comments from Dr. Lewis Blevins MD. Director Center for Pituitary Disorders at University California San Francisco
What constitutes a normal test result?
September 16, 2014
From Dr. Lewis Blevins. What constitutes a normal test result? In most endocrine assays, it is a population of supposedly normal individuals that defines the upper and lower limits of normal. Take the mean, and
The Hypothalamus
September 15, 2014
From Lewis Blevins, MD – Image from UPMC – The hypothalamus is recognized as the part of the brain that surrounds the third ventricle. It contains the cell bodies of neurons that release hypothalamic hormones
Drugs that may affect your thyroid hormone dose.
September 12, 2014
From Dr. Lewis Blevins. Patient’s with pituitary and thyroid disorders may be required to make adjustments in thyroid hormone dosages since their glands cannot work together to make those adjustments in certain situations that
Tests of Pituitary Function: Thyroid
September 12, 2014
From Dr. Lewis Blevins. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is produced by the pituitary gland and leads to the secretion of T4 and T3 by the thyroid gland. Most circulating T3 is driveed from the peripheral
Tests of Pituitary Function: GH Deficiency
September 11, 2014
From Dr. Lewis Blevins. Growth Hormone levels, by themselves, are not a good indicator of GH sufficiency. Levels are undetectable 50% of the time during the day in normal persons. Thus, when a diagnosis
Steroid dose equivalents
September 10, 2014
From Dr. Lewis Blevins. There is a lot of confusion as to what constitutes a replacement dose of a steroid hormone for patients with hypopituitarism. The textbooks are wrong and, if we took doses they
Survive the Journey
September 10, 2014
Head trauma of many different types can cause hypopituitarism. The pituitary stalk can be literally torn in two causing hypopituitarism and Diabetes Insipidus as well as hyperprolactinemia. This woman’s story is not unlike many others
Tests of pituitary function: acromegaly
September 9, 2014
From Dr. Lewis Blevins. Growth Hormone is secreted in pulses, usually 9-12 per 24-hour period, and most of these occur at night while we are sleeping. In normal adults, growth hormone levels are undetectable 50%
Central Hypothyroidism
September 3, 2014
From Dr. Lewis Blevins. Central Hypothyroidism due to pituitary or hypothalamic disease: Central hypothyroidism is a condition where the thyroid gland does not function very well because of lack of stimulation by the pituitary gland.
Thoughts on transsphenodial procedures
September 3, 2014
Dr. Sandeep Kunwar, Surgical Director of the California Center for Pituitary Disorders at UCSF, performing a transsphenodial resection of a pituitary adenoma. Painting by Dr. Lewis Blevins. The operating microscope, introduced by Dr. Jules Hardy
What happens when the pituitary gland malfunctions
September 2, 2014
From the UCSF medical center “Patient Power” program with Andrew Schorr, an in-depth discussion about the diagnosis, misdiagnosis, evaluation and treatment of pituitary disorders featuring Dr Lewis Blevins. Click here to listen
Hands
September 1, 2014
painting by Lewis Blevins, MD